Quick, what's the difference between a comedy and a drama?
The answer to this question for most people really just depends on how much time you have available and how many exceptions you'd like to build into your argument. A comedy is something that makes me laugh. Dramas never do? A comedy is something that's funny ha-ha. Again, dramas never do?
Rather than look at the difference between them on a specific level, let's instead do what this blog is going to be all about and take a step back.
Comedy is characters saying yes to each other.
Drama is characters saying no to each other.
Does that mean literally? Well, it can, but it doesn't have to.
In the first act of an episode of a sitcom, much of the throwaway dialogue and often some of the plot consists of characters saying yes to each other. If someone talks about how they got lost in the sewers over summer vacation and their scene partner does not object, but takes it in stride as though it were a normal contribution to the conversation, this is what I mean by "saying yes."
If you've ever done any improv, you know the only real rule is to roll with whatever your partner gives you. If they say they've come down with a rare case of hair cancer, you're supposed to look for ways to fix it, not to tell them there's no such thing. This is what characters in comedies do, they say ridiculous things to each other, and don't ever challenge them.
Drama on the other hand is characters saying no. What exactly does this mean? This is a little more specific (but obviously not as rare) as what happens in comedies. When a character comes out to his mother and she pretends not to hear him, this is the opposite.
This is exactly what you're not to do in improv, since the purpose of the exercise isn't so much to develop well-fleshed out characters, but to get lots of ideas out there. When you stop the flow, you are stuck in the moment with your partner and have to figure out what's what.
This is where conflict comes from. This isn't to say that comedies don't have conflict. Of course they do, all stories have conflict of some kind. Dramas just tend to have them more frequently and introduce them earlier. In a drama, the conflict is usually internal, and often present towards the beginning, if not before the story starts altogether. In comedies it tends to be introduced later on and is usually external.
When two characters are talking and one says no to the other, the scene really can't move forward until they either reach a resolution or break on a note that leaves us, the audience with a distinct vibe that it will be addressed later on in the episode or arc.
This obviously isn't two venn diagrams that never intersect, and shows that possess aspects of both certainly exist. These are just two extremes, and you can decide for yourself where something falls. I find this a useful tool to ascertain what sort of attitude whatever I'm watching would like me to take towards it. The dissonance experienced when you realize you've been watching something serious as a comedy or the inverse is sometimes hilarious, and sometimes just annoying. Being in the proper state of mind when you're ready to watch something is often important to enjoying it, and the better you can figure out what that is by placing it on this scale, the more you'll be able to be entertain by being in the proper state of mind.
How does this work for you? Do you have other suggestions?
Also, I'd really love to be able to use one word for read/watch/observe/listen to/etc that's not specific to one medium, since the stuff I talk about here (and in the future) won't just be about movies, but will also apply to movies, plays, and other things. The only one I can think of is "consume" which seems sort of odd and sinister. Do you have any tips?
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Introduction: Let There Be Lips!
The internet is awash with sites about movies.
We've got IMDB for reference, rottentomatoes for editorials, Wikipedia for fact-checking. In between these skyscrapers lie smaller structures, the reviewers. There are positive reviewers, gushing about things they like. There are negative reviewers, railing about things they don't. I don't need to tell you which is more popular.
So bad it's good has gone past being a cultural phenomenon and is now simply something that is. It's understood, accepted, and even embraced to seek out something you know is bad and watch it anyway, deriving pleasure in spite of the obstacles that lie in your way. Joel and his robots would be proud.
In the wake of this, there are a great many talented reviewers all over the world posting humorous reviews of the worst of the worst, mocking the Ed Woods and Roger Cormans and doing a fine job of it, the material has much to offer.
Don't take this to mean that I think it's easy to review these sorts of movies. In fact, I believe just the opposite. I'm sure it's especially difficult to review things like this precisely because they're as popular as they are today. If sat down in a room playing "Plan 9 from Outer Space" what could I possibly say about it that hadn't been said before?
I don't say this to re-re-retread the idea that there is nothing new under the sun, primarily because I don't believe it to be true.
ASIDE: Allow me to use this opportunity to demonstrate my asides. They will be a regular occurrence in my entries here. I don't believe there is such a thing as an impartial audience. We're all consuming fiction through the lens of our own lives and experiences and identities, and simply because I call myself a reviewer, I don't think it's fair to say that I'm different. Rather than glossing over my own personal views on things, or pretending they don't exist and that I'm giving a purely objective stance on something, I will call myself out on my own views and explain them to the best of my ability. They won't always be objective, and admitting that is the first step of an honest examination of something. If I pretend that I as a reviewer am no different from any other reviewer, then it means I'm admitting I have nothing worthwhile to say. This is the space I'll be using to talk about it when I notice my own views affecting how I consume something.
I don't think the idea of nothing new is true because it's saying combining things that already exist into something else isn't creation. By that token, making a cake out of eggs, sugar, flour, and other things isn't making something new, nor is mixing chemicals to get a reaction, words to get a sentence, or actors and ideas to get a movie.
I don't think I can believe this and be interested in art. Just because an idea's been expressed before doesn't mean there's never a way to add to it or present it in a new way.
Instead, what I'd like to do is something that I haven't seen as much of. As will become apparent in future installments, I have watched lots of movies, television shows, internet reviewers, read lots of books, blogs, and sites, and I haven't seen much of this. Not to say it doesn't exist, just that I think it's something that can set this blog apart from the crowd.
Instead of looking at specifics, I would like to use this blog to talk about generalities. I don't mean I want to be vague instead of incisive, but that I'd rather talk about causes as opposed to effects. Instead of talking about why a specific character doesn't work in the story, I'd rather talk about why that character as an archetype isn't working here, and talk about what makes up that archetype.
It'll make sense once I get started, really. It's like trying to describe how to use chopsticks to someone, eventually you give up and just show them.
As anyone who works on the internet must, I am of course willing to take suggestions. If there's ever any show, movie, book, or other form of fictional media out there you'd like me to talk about, go ahead and tell me about it.
I'll try to have a new post up at least once a week, and if interest flags and I need to change my approach, let me know. I am writing for others, of course, and the goal for a piece of media is to entertain the audience.
I hope you and I both have fun here. Welcome, and as it says in the title:
Let there be lips!
We've got IMDB for reference, rottentomatoes for editorials, Wikipedia for fact-checking. In between these skyscrapers lie smaller structures, the reviewers. There are positive reviewers, gushing about things they like. There are negative reviewers, railing about things they don't. I don't need to tell you which is more popular.
So bad it's good has gone past being a cultural phenomenon and is now simply something that is. It's understood, accepted, and even embraced to seek out something you know is bad and watch it anyway, deriving pleasure in spite of the obstacles that lie in your way. Joel and his robots would be proud.
In the wake of this, there are a great many talented reviewers all over the world posting humorous reviews of the worst of the worst, mocking the Ed Woods and Roger Cormans and doing a fine job of it, the material has much to offer.
Don't take this to mean that I think it's easy to review these sorts of movies. In fact, I believe just the opposite. I'm sure it's especially difficult to review things like this precisely because they're as popular as they are today. If sat down in a room playing "Plan 9 from Outer Space" what could I possibly say about it that hadn't been said before?
I don't say this to re-re-retread the idea that there is nothing new under the sun, primarily because I don't believe it to be true.
ASIDE: Allow me to use this opportunity to demonstrate my asides. They will be a regular occurrence in my entries here. I don't believe there is such a thing as an impartial audience. We're all consuming fiction through the lens of our own lives and experiences and identities, and simply because I call myself a reviewer, I don't think it's fair to say that I'm different. Rather than glossing over my own personal views on things, or pretending they don't exist and that I'm giving a purely objective stance on something, I will call myself out on my own views and explain them to the best of my ability. They won't always be objective, and admitting that is the first step of an honest examination of something. If I pretend that I as a reviewer am no different from any other reviewer, then it means I'm admitting I have nothing worthwhile to say. This is the space I'll be using to talk about it when I notice my own views affecting how I consume something.
I don't think the idea of nothing new is true because it's saying combining things that already exist into something else isn't creation. By that token, making a cake out of eggs, sugar, flour, and other things isn't making something new, nor is mixing chemicals to get a reaction, words to get a sentence, or actors and ideas to get a movie.
I don't think I can believe this and be interested in art. Just because an idea's been expressed before doesn't mean there's never a way to add to it or present it in a new way.
Instead, what I'd like to do is something that I haven't seen as much of. As will become apparent in future installments, I have watched lots of movies, television shows, internet reviewers, read lots of books, blogs, and sites, and I haven't seen much of this. Not to say it doesn't exist, just that I think it's something that can set this blog apart from the crowd.
Instead of looking at specifics, I would like to use this blog to talk about generalities. I don't mean I want to be vague instead of incisive, but that I'd rather talk about causes as opposed to effects. Instead of talking about why a specific character doesn't work in the story, I'd rather talk about why that character as an archetype isn't working here, and talk about what makes up that archetype.
It'll make sense once I get started, really. It's like trying to describe how to use chopsticks to someone, eventually you give up and just show them.
As anyone who works on the internet must, I am of course willing to take suggestions. If there's ever any show, movie, book, or other form of fictional media out there you'd like me to talk about, go ahead and tell me about it.
I'll try to have a new post up at least once a week, and if interest flags and I need to change my approach, let me know. I am writing for others, of course, and the goal for a piece of media is to entertain the audience.
I hope you and I both have fun here. Welcome, and as it says in the title:
Let there be lips!
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